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Chicago Tribune
27-05-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Waukegan High Class of 2025 buries time capsule; ‘We don't know what the world looks like when you open this'
Imagining how the world and Waukegan High School will be different 50 years from now is a challenging task, but some experienced members of the school community know what they want to happen by then. Many members of the Class of 2025 will have a tool to reminisce. Theresa Plascencia, the Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 superintendent, knows what the current student body wants, and Board of Education member Anita Hanna, now in her seventh term, knows what she hopes occurs. 'The student body has been actively advocating for a new high school, a state-of-the-art athletic field and a 21st-century environment,' Plascencia said. 'By then, I hope there is a new high school, and Bulldog pride will permeate through the community.' By 2075, the Washington campus will be more than 150 years old and the newer Brookside building will be almost as old as the present Washington Street structure. Hanna hopes neither is there in 50 years. 'I hope that we have two new high schools,' Hanna said. 'If I were to say what I want to say, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) has been a positive program for our community, our society and for the world we live in.' Members of the Class of 2025 will have the opportunity to relive in some ways what happened during their time in high school when they gather for their 50th reunion as they open a time capsule containing items from their high school days. Representatives of the Class of 2025, the school community and others filled and buried a time capsule Friday in front of the Brookside campus as they look forward to their future and the opportunity to see relics of their past when the current graduates are nearly 70. As more than 75 people gathered around two tables containing a variety of keepsakes — from school T-shirts, to a cellphone, to a yearbook, to posters, to copies of the News-Sun, to banners, to caps and more — they talked about the present and hopes for the school's future. Along with the items on the table, Nick Alatzakis, the district's communications director, walked around with a Polaroid camera, asking to take people's pictures, giving them the image and an opportunity to write a message on it for burial. Someone else gave people paper to write notes. After the capsule was lowered into its hole, many members of the crowd took turns using a shovel to cover it. Arvin Paul, one of the two student organizers of the event, is one of the people who said he will continue with others to make the wish for a new school expressed by Plascencia and Hanna a reality well before 2075. He and seven others created a group and crafted bylaws. 'It is now also another legacy we're passing onto our future Bulldogs, to continue our fight and to make sure our students get the best facilities they deserve,' Paul said after the event. 'This is another thing I hope that changes.' Ja'Kayla Tennin is another student organizer of the time capsule project. She and Paul held the items up and talked about them. They worked with Ali Schultz, an English teacher with a passion for history, to organize the time-capsule project. Tennin said she wants her classmates to feel proud now and in 50 years. Her long-term goal is to become a surgeon. 'I can say with pride Waukegan is a great place to be from,' Tennin said. 'We're doing this to give the senior class something to remember (one day). We started talking and the idea got bigger, just like a (rolling) snowball.' Schultz said when she watched members of the Class of 1974 last fall open a time capsule they buried 50 years earlier, she started thinking about doing it again for the class which graduated May 16. On Friday, she had a message for the Class of 2075. 'We in 2025 packed this capsule with our voices, our values and a lot of our T-shirts,' Schultz said. 'These items are more than objects to us. They're memories, questions, our hopes for the future and a little bit of who we are in this moment. We don't know what the world looks like when you open this, but we hope it's kinder, wiser (and) more connected.'
Chicago Tribune
23-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Shoppers discounted in debate over grocery tax
Just when Illinoisans thought they were getting a break from paying the highest taxes in the nation, disappointment came calling like a spring thunderstorm. After all, government can giveth and government can taketh away. That's what's happened to the grocery tax, which Gov. JB Pritzker touted as a tax break for Illinoisans, especially poor folks, when he signed a bill last year to repeal the state's 1% levy on groceries. Groceries are taxed at 1.75%, with 1% returned to municipalities. Except the bill gave an out, allowing municipalities to implement their own tax to make up for the revenue shortfall. Municipalities have until Oct. 1 to enact a tax without having to go to a referendum. Which is what plenty of Illinois cities, towns and villages are doing. Residents aren't getting a say if they want to add more to their grocery bills during a time of climbing food prices. That's because if the question was put to them, they'd surely say, 'Heck no.' In west suburban Bensenville, which straddles Cook and DuPage counties, in the April 1 municipal election, voters rejected any proposed tax hike by 91%. That display of sentiment hasn't stopped more than 160 Illinois towns from moving to restore the grocery tax at the local level. Mayors, village managers and city council members moan they need that dependable revenue, yet never take into consideration cutting expenses. Some may think a 1% tack-on at checkout isn't a big deal, but the grocery tax — considered regressive by many — has generated an estimated $400 million annually for municipalities. There's been a lot of finger-pointing between the governor's office and local officials, who have been given what they consider a fiscal burden to bear. Or come up with a replacement. Gurnee is but the latest Lake County village to consider imposing some sort of sales tax increase to make up for the lost revenue when the state grocery sales tax ends on Jan. 1, 2026. The Lake Forest City Council unanimously voted to levy a 1% grocery sales tax. Other county towns that have done the same include Bannockburn, Barrington, Buffalo Grove and Lake Zurich, while Lake Bluff is eyeing its own grocery tax. More, many more, will certainly be following. In Lake Forest, officials estimated the city would lose $525,000 in revenue with the elimination of the grocery tax, according to a News-Sun story last month by Daniel I. Dorfman. Yet, the city currently has an approximate $3.6 million surplus. In Gurnee, which also has a considerable surplus in its budget, earns $2 million to $2.5 million from the tax, according to Erin Yarnall's front-page News-Sun story last week. The village's finance guru said Gurnee receives approximately $1.1 million from Target and Walmart; $670,000 from Aldi, Mariano's and Jewel; up to $480,000 from drugstores, and $230,000 from other retailers. That's a lot of tax revenue to make up, but Lake County taxpayers also pay the most taxes in the state. Illinois residents pay the highest combined state and local taxes in the nation, at more than $13,000 annually, according to a recent report by personal finance firm WalletHub. Gurnee, which has no village property tax, has a sales tax rate of 8%, which includes the 6.25% state sales tax. That is a higher sales tax rate than 79.8% of Illinois' other municipalities, according to one estimate. Food prices in 2025 are expected to rise 3.5%, after a 3.3% jump the past year, according to the federal government. In 2025, overall food prices are anticipated to rise slightly faster than the historical average rate of growth, the government forecasts. In 2022, when the state suspended collecting the grocery sales tax because of inflation, food prices increased by 9.9%, faster than in any year since 1979. With consumers impacted daily by prices at the supermarket, they have been left out of the debate of replacing the grocery sales tax. April was the last time a referendum could be held on the topic unless a municipality's leaders want to hold a special election. That certainly is not going to happen. If you thought your grocery bill was going to be 1% less during those weekly market trips come Jan. 1, you'll be among the many disgruntled Illinoisans who believed they finally were getting a break on those high taxes until your local officials got involved.
Chicago Tribune
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Will Waukegan have to pay for alderman's tacky stunt?
There's an overall consensus that Waukegan Ald. Keith Turner exhibited bad taste last May when he posted a photo of a human body part on social media. But is that crass move worthy of a $500,000 claim against the city? An attorney for the family of the Milwaukee woman whose severed arm was found on the city's public beach is contending it could be. Turner surely didn't see a possible lawsuit coming as the family of Sade Robinson seeks closure in her grisly death. But then, this is a litigious society we live in. Anybody can be sued, even for a tacky stunt like the alderman pulled. According to Steve Sadin's front-page News-Sun story the other day, the attorney submitted a notice of claim informing Waukegan officials that the Turner incident is under review, and reserving the right to eventually file a lawsuit which might seek more than a half-million dollars. The estate will allege emotional distress and 'interference with the right to entomb and mourn.' Robinson was a 19-year-old student at the Milwaukee Area Technical College who disappeared in early April 2024. Other parts of her body were found scattered in the Milwaukee area. Maxwell Anderson, 33, of Milwaukee, was charged by Milwaukee police with murder, mutilating a corpse and arson in her killing. Robinson went missing after the two met for a first-date dinner. Anderson has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is slated to start May 27 in Milwaukee. After the arm, which was severed at the shoulder, was discovered on the Waukegan lakeshore, 53 miles from Milwaukee, Turner posted a photo of it on social media for a couple of days. It was his attempt at a 'gotcha moment,' aimed at the administration of then-Mayor Ann Taylor. That stunt backfired for the alderman, who ran for mayor in last month's city election. He finished a distant third, and his aldermanic seat is up for election in the 2027 election. Given numerous opportunities, he has yet to apologize for not only putting the city in a bad light, but also its taxpayers, who will be on the hook for any payment. That lack of remorse and any offering of atonement may have caused the lawsuit threat for municipalities that have those proverbial deep pockets when it comes to legal filings. Most of us know that not everything needs to be posted on social media, especially a queasy photo of a severed arm. Turner, though, couldn't resist and posted it on his 'Friends of Keith Turner' Facebook page. Imagine what Turner would do if the tables were turned. The body-part picture was accompanied by this teaser: 'Shocking discovery at Waukegan Beach! A severed arm found, but no report or mention from the administration. What's the story behind this mysterious incident?' Members of Robinson's family, though, going through the trauma of learning of their daughter's gruesome death, found the posting of her severed arm a disgusting thing to do. Most right-thinking folks would agree. Waukegan officials have been clear that city personnel didn't provide Turner with the photograph. Because it was an active criminal investigation, city officials didn't comment on the discovery of the body part until Turner's 'scoop.' At the time, Robinson's mother, Sheena Scarbrough, in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, questioned why a 'professional person' would post something like that. 'We're dealing with trauma,' she said. Taylor, echoing the family's sentiment, said in a statement: 'On behalf of the City of Waukegan, I find the posting of an image of this type to be morally disgusting, socially irresponsible, and extremely cruel to the victim's family. He was never given permission to post the photo on his Facebook page.' Most of Turner's City Council colleagues concurred with Taylor. Indeed, members of the City Council voted to censure Turner for the tasteless action by a 6-3 vote. That may not be enough mitigation to avoid a lawsuit. According to the filing, Robinson's mother first saw her daughter's arm on social media, Sadin reported. The attorney said in the document that she may want to gather evidence about the city's role in handling and identifying the remains, mishandling the arm, any role the city had with the posting of the arm on Turner's social media page, or acts of omission by city officials. That's a fairly wide net in alerting Waukegan legal eagles of what the basis of any lawsuit may entail. Those city lawyers may also include the newest law firm representing not the city, but its aldermen solely. If any lawsuit ends up in court, a judge or jury will have to decide if an indelicate social media posting is worth more than $500,000 for the bereaved of Sade Robinson. If it turns out to be so, it is another cautionary tale for those who post without thinking.
Chicago Tribune
19-05-2025
- Climate
- Chicago Tribune
Column: For home gardeners, our pollinators are essential
Many of us can't wait to get into our gardens, turn over that fine Illinois loam and plant. For a little sweat equity, we should have a wealth of vegetables in a few months. Apparently, I'm not the only one raring to go since warm weather rolled in, getting those planting juices flowing. A reported 1,000 visitors from across Lake and Cook counties were at the Spring Plant Sale and Farm Festival at Liberty Prairie in Grayslake earlier this month. That, according to the front page News-Sun story last week by Karie Angell Luc. More than 10,000 plants were at the annual sale for backyard gardeners. Available were herbs, all sorts of vegetables, flowers and native plants. Area garden centers, too, are full of planting options in this early part of the season. The sale is held in conjunction with Grayslake Community High School District 127 as part of its Agricultural Pathway program. Students grew annual organic vegetables, fruit and flowering plants, with proceeds benefiting the district's agriculture education. Before the turn of the 20th century, Grayslake was a farming community, like others in the county, when hay was a major cash crop grown to feed horse-drawn conveyances, along with threshers and other simple farm implements. It's good to see educators continue the agriculture traditions. Some of those gardeners at the sale may begin their patchwork right after Mother's Day, but that plan can backfire when a cold front moves in, like what is happening this week, and frost can nip those fragile young seedlings. Fretting over the weather, though, is only one of gardeners' worries. We should be concerned about losing our essential pollinators. Without bees, butterflies, moths and hummingbirds, that hopeful backyard bumper crop may be lackluster. Scientists and environmentalists tell us our vital pollinator populations are in trouble. There has been a dramatic decrease in their numbers not only here, but globally. Unless you missed the birds and the wild bees science lesson (not the biology lecture) in junior high, you know pollination is needed to grow most of our food crops. As some farmers and backyard gardeners are known to say: It has been ever thus. Pollination is required for the production of vegetables and fruit. If you are a gardener, you've watched industrious bumble bees or honey bees dart from blossom to blossom, collecting pollen grains and fertilizing plants. The same is true of butterflies, which flit from plant to plant. Over quite a few summers in God's quarter-acre in this corner of northeast Illinois, I have found the annual flower lantana works wonders in attracting various butterfly species, along with those dainty, yet hard-working, ruby-throated hummingbirds searching for nectar. Perennial butterfly bushes and milkweed are also favorites of pollinators. According to Angell Luc's gardening story, Elisabeth Neiss of Lake Villa attended the Liberty Prairie plant sale in pursuit of flowering perennials. 'I'm going for the native plants because I want to support the native pollinators, the monarch butterflies, so I'm looking for milkweed,' she said. Once, Lake County's prairies were thick with milkweed. Turning some of the richest land into subdivisions hasn't helped pollinators withstand the pressure of civilization. The Environmental Defense Fund estimates that one-third of the food we eat depends on the work of our essential pollinators. While populations fluctuate annually, research is showing dramatic decreases in pollinators, especially bees and butterflies. Nationally, the population of the orange-and-black monarch butterflies, once seen during summers in the Midwest in the tens of thousands, has decreased by nearly one billion since 1990. The reason, of course, is humankind. Monarchs are now considered an endangered species. Overuse of pesticides, habitat destruction, invasive species and climate change are taking a toll on the pollinators. Pesticides, even in small amounts, can impact bees' immune system, navigation, memory and other functions that are critical to their survival and reproduction, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, which has a Chicago office and has worked to protect the environment since 1970. Home gardeners can be at the forefront when it comes to helping pollinator populations grow by planting flowers and vegetables that attract pollinators. Also, reduce the use of pesticides in your back 40. It's like songstress Joni Mitchell chirped back in her 1970 song 'Big Yellow Taxi': 'Give me spots on my apples, but leave me the birds and the bees. Please.'
Chicago Tribune
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Column: State gladly accepts federal funds to curb carp
There was nothing fishy about President Donald Trump unleashing federal money last week to combat the threat of invasive carp entering Lake Michigan. After fears the administration would withhold the funding to punish Illinois, the president showed his bark is maybe worse than his bite. At least when it comes to this ecosystem issue. Illinois Department of Natural Resources officials had expected to begin the Brandon Road Interbasin Project on the Des Plaines River in Joliet in Will County back in February. That date was delayed after officials were afraid funding might be postponed since the president and Gov. JB Pritzker have been sniping at each other, according to a News-Sun story earlier this week by Olivia Olander of the Chicago Tribune. First phase of the work, pegged at about $340 million, is proposed to stop the so-called Asian carp — silver, bighead, grass and black carp — from entering the Big Lake fishery, where they could spread to the other four Great Lakes. Two more phases of the project, in the planning stage for more than five years, including an electric-shock barrier, are proposed in the coming years. The overall pricetag is an estimated $1.2 billion. That's a hefty cost, yet at stake is the future of the Great Lakes recreational fishing, boating and tourism industry, estimated at $16 billion, as well as the lakes' $7 billion commercial fishing industry. Charter boat captains, from Northpoint Marina in Winthrop Harbor to Waukegan Harbor to Chicago, along with weekend anglers, have already been successfully plying Lake Michigan this spring seeking various trout and salmonoid species with great luck. Reports indicate that there have been many days of limit catches. The Brandon Road Lock and Dam barrier plans offered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are considered the last stand in stemming the expected push by the invasive species into the Great Lakes, which are the largest freshwater system in the world. Downstream from the lake along the Illinois River, the voracious fish have taken over waterways. Indeed, one study has determined that up to 50 million pounds of carp a year could be taken in the river, and even more from waterways south to the Gulf Coast. The state has attempted to 'rebrand' the fish as the affordable 'seafood' they now call copi. Nobody has swallowed that despite some Chicago chefs crafting dishes using the plentiful copi, a nod to how 'copious' the fish are. Apparently, the fish is tasty, but still carp is carp. Other uses for the fish are exporting them to Asian markets and for fertilizer. Like other invasives, the carp were introduced in the 1960s to help aquaculture in the South, but have since spread to 31 states. There's plenty of video on social media showing hundreds of carp jumping into boats on various rivers, including the mighty Mississippi. The devastation the species could cause to the Great Lakes would be an environmental disaster. There's no guarantee the barrier plans will keep the carp from lakes, which already have some freshwater common European carp, also an invasive species, swimming free. As in the case of other invasives — lamprey eels, zebra mussels or gobies — they have a way of getting where they want to go. Perhaps capitalist Trump sees the financial damage the invasives could wreak on Midwestern states, as he's promised the feds will write a check for their fair share. Or he's repaying the sportsmen in Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin who helped him to victory last fall in battleground states. Whatever the reason, Illinois officials and others are pleased to see the money forthcoming. Unlike another $2 billion in federal funds for some 70 other projects across the state, destined for Illinois but hanging fire. Pritzker said Trump 'heard our calls about the importance of delivering federal funds,' according to Olander's story. He added that the administration 'decided to finally meet their obligations to the state of Illinois and the Great Lakes region.' The National Wildlife Federation, too, praised the full-funding measure, calling it 'the most effective solution to protect the Great Lakes from invasive carp.' If the fish make their way to Lake Michigan, from what we've seen on the Illinois River, it will be near-impossible to get rid of their presence. The Brandon Road barrier may keep them out of our precious resource. When that happens, the Trump administration will receive an overdue 'thank you' from environmentalists and fishers across the region.
